Bonifacio Mondalo crowned 2022 MSE champion

Local Filipino player Bonifacio Mondalo claimed his first ever live tournament title after eliminating the last three players of the 2022 Metro Summer Event. Mondalo earned Php 291,200 (ICM deal) and a seat worth Php 44,000 to the upcoming Asia Poker Championship. Congratulations to the champ!! You can read up on all the action via our Live Updates.

Final Table cash payouts

1st Bonifacio Mondalo – Php 291,200*
2nd Ronn Ryan Mesina – Php 290,500*
3rd Christopher Mateo – Php 404,600*
4th Renniel Galvez – Php 198,300*
5th Joey Pardales – Php 273,500*
6th Hernan Jaybee Villa – Php 67,500
7th Ellezer Castillo – Php 52,500
8th Ericson Ebilane – Php 42,500
*ICM deal

Payouts 9th to 16th 

9th Edgar Asehan – Php 35,000
10th John Clyde Tan – Php 35,000
11th Cristopher Runas – Php 35,000
12th Jessie Leonarez – Php 30,000
13th Bell John Perez – Php 30,000
14th Dek Cruz – Php 30,000
15th Chan Yong Shen Eason – Php 30,000
16th William Ysmael – Php 25,000

Final day review

The final day of the 2022 MSE opened with 16 players back on the felt. The past five days saw 533 enter the event to crush the Php 1.5M guarantee in exchange for a more lucrative Php 2,470,000 prize pool.

Dates: April 20 to 25
Buy in: Php 5,500
Guarantee: Php 1,500,000
Entries: 533
Prize pool: Php 2,470,000
ITM: 53 places

The money flowed at Day 2 starting at 53rd place. Among the payouts were Day 1A chip leader John Matsuda in 20th place, Pre-Event winner Rommel Angeles in 34th place, and 2018 Metro Summer Event champion Joseph Sia in 39th place. The day ended with 16 players led by Dek Cruz with over a million in chips and local pro Christopher Mateo less than 1 BB behind.

Heavy action between fourth ranked William Ysmael and Mateo led to the latter Mateo scooping up a big pot on a board {10c}{4c}{2c}{9s} with {ac}{as}. After the loss in chips, Ysmael became the day’s first casualty when his {jc}{jd} ran into Cruz’s {qh}{qc}.

Despite Cruz getting a big boost in chips, he too couldn’t get past Mateo. Cruz lost a whopping 30 BBs in one hand to the leader, calling down Mateo, then mucking to a set of ducks. Cruz proceeded to bust in 14th place with {ah}{kd} unable to crack Mondalo’s {kc}{ks}. Following this bust, short stacks tumbled with Edgar Asehan as the bubble to the final table.

The final table opened with Mateo way ahead in the count with 77 BB, his closest challenger was Joey Pardales with 45 BB. Day 1D chip leader Ericson Ebilane was first to bite the bullet, Ellezer Castillo followed, then after a long six handed round, Hernan Jaybee Villa busted to Mateo with {ah}{ks} flush dominating {kd}{jd} pair.

From there, the final five players opted on an ICM deal then played for the trophy and a seat to the APC worth Php 44,000. Mondalo claimed it for his first ever live tournament title and Php 291,200.

Asia Poker Championship up next

Next up at the Metro Card Club is the Asia Poker Championship featuring a Php 20 Million guarantee. Buy in to this prestigious event is Php 44,000, which is double the past installment. Past champion was Noel Araniel who bagged it in 2020 for a payout of Php 1,525,877 (~US$ 30,000). This is one event that must not be missed! Mark the dates – June 6 to 12!